Gingersnap
12-18-2008, 03:10 PM
More Xcel bills going unpaid
Shut-offs soaring
By Andy Vuong
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 12/17/2008 10:53:30 PM MST
Jerica Roush's power was shut off Wednesday, the second time in the past month her home went dark.
The 19-year-old, a dancer at Oasis Cabaret gentlemen's club in Adams County, said the sinking economy has drastically cut her wages, making it harder to pay the bills.
Even amid lower energy prices, more Coloradans are struggling to pay their utility bills this heating season.
Xcel Energy, the state's largest electric and natural-gas utility, shut off 8,526 residential customers for delinquent bills in November, up 117 percent from 3,930 in November 2007, according to spokesman Joe Fuentes.
So far this year, shut-offs have increased by 32 percent.
"It's the economy, the wintertime, Christmas, everything," Roush said Wednesday afternoon while applying for financial assistance from the state Low-income Energy Assistance Program.
This week, she made $18 for a day's worth of work. She used to make $100 a day.
"Not as many people are coming in," she said.
I had to laugh at this one. Even I could make way more than $18 in exchange for taking off my clothes. Something tells me she's just not doing it right.
Putting It Back On (http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_11257798)
Shut-offs soaring
By Andy Vuong
The Denver Post
Article Last Updated: 12/17/2008 10:53:30 PM MST
Jerica Roush's power was shut off Wednesday, the second time in the past month her home went dark.
The 19-year-old, a dancer at Oasis Cabaret gentlemen's club in Adams County, said the sinking economy has drastically cut her wages, making it harder to pay the bills.
Even amid lower energy prices, more Coloradans are struggling to pay their utility bills this heating season.
Xcel Energy, the state's largest electric and natural-gas utility, shut off 8,526 residential customers for delinquent bills in November, up 117 percent from 3,930 in November 2007, according to spokesman Joe Fuentes.
So far this year, shut-offs have increased by 32 percent.
"It's the economy, the wintertime, Christmas, everything," Roush said Wednesday afternoon while applying for financial assistance from the state Low-income Energy Assistance Program.
This week, she made $18 for a day's worth of work. She used to make $100 a day.
"Not as many people are coming in," she said.
I had to laugh at this one. Even I could make way more than $18 in exchange for taking off my clothes. Something tells me she's just not doing it right.
Putting It Back On (http://www.denverpost.com/business/ci_11257798)